My Favorite Things

Once a year, sometimes in December, Oprah does her famous "Favorite Things" episode. She walks on stage, and announces the episode, and everyone in the audience screams and jumps up and down (even though most of them are NOT wearing sports bras...decorum, people!) and cry, because Oprah's favorite things are fabulous, and once she talks about them, everyone in the audience gets one. For instance, this December, everyone got an Ipad, very expensive cookware, sparkly Uggs, Coach purses, a Kindle, thousands of dollars worth of gift cards, and various other expensive items.

Well, this is my very own "favorite things" blog. The difference is, I'm not going to give any of you anything. I'm just going to make recommendations, which you may take or leave at your leisure. And yes, this is another "list" blog. I'm sorry if they are getting redundant.



1) Taylor Swift. I know, I know, she's not exactly quality. But the farther she gets from country music (and her latest album, Speak Now, is about 95% pop music) the more I like her. I also respect the fact that, although she cannot sing live very well, she writes all of her own songs. And they are catchy, fun, likable songs.




2) Elizabeth and the Catapult. This is a truly talented band made up of a trio from Brooklyn, NYC. They are a bit quirky, but she writes great, catchy, original music. They don't remind me of anything...they are uniquely them.





3) The Hunger Games. This trilogy of books by Suzanne Collins is one of the best things I have read in a long, long time. The best comparison I can make is that they are like a mix of The Giver and Lord of the Flies, with just a tiny bit of romance thrown in. (Thank you, Liana, for that succinct observation.) They are written for teens, but I cannot imagine anyone NOT liking them. I've been feeling lately that the young adult fiction section of the book store was a little weak. It's been a mix of Twilight knock-offs and Harry Potter wanna-bes, with a few dozen Gossip Girl spinoffs. It was refreshing to see something NEW and of substance on the shelves. Seriously, read them!


4) Decision Points by George W Bush. I don't care what you think of the man's politics, it's a good read. It gives a lot of insight into his Presidency, and it's an interesting book. He focuses on the highlights and lowlights of his eight years in office, talks about the major decisions he had to make, why he made them, which ones were right, and which ones he regrets. One of the things I appreciated about his autobiography as compared to others that I've read is that I didn't feel that he was trying to persuade me of anything. There was no agenda, no intense political jargon. It was simply his story, what he did, and why.


5) Black Swan. I can't delve too much into this without giving a lot away, but this is an excellent movie. From one of my favorite directors, Darren Aronofsky, (Pi, and Requiem for Dream), this film is intense from the very first moments of the film. It's a psychological thriller, not a "bad guy in the shadows" kind of movie. It messed with my mind, and had a fantastic ending. Natalie Portman was truly incredible. See it!


6) My new favorite website, budgetbytes.blogspot.com. For those of you on a tight grocery budget, you know that it is difficult to be a gourmet chef when you have to be cheap. I have a zillion recipes in my cookbooks that I would love to try, but the ingredients are just too much to buy for one meal. Budgetbytes is written by a young woman who loves to cook, and is also poor. I love this blog. Most of the recipes are simple, but very, very tasty! She puts the overall price for the meal, and what it costs per serving. Plus, she lists the price for each ingredient. She uses a lot of basic ingredients that I already have in the house, or can buy in bulk. That way, I don't buy something for one meal and then the rest of it goes bad. Her recipes also tend to be pretty healthy, which is a plus. Eating a healthful, delicious diet can be very expensive. Some of her recipes she creates herself, and some she finds online or gets from friends. Anyway, this week I planned out my meals from her blog, got enough food for FIVE DINNERS (counting on leftovers twice...many of her meals make 4 or 6 servings) and I was 20 dollars under budget. The first meal tonight was a big hit.



So there you have it. Six of my favorite things. Wish I could give you all a free car, but you'll have to go see Oprah for that.

Love to you all,
Lissa